About

James Henson is the director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas. His work involves conducting regular, non-partisan, statewide polls of registered voters in Texas, and making the results and data available for public use. The project focuses on Texas politics and government, providing analysis, educational resources, and data visualization related to public opinion and electoral trends in Texas. Henson's contributions include overseeing polling efforts, analyzing voter behavior, and supporting educational initiatives such as courses, webtext, and open-source resources for teachers, students, and the public. His leadership in the Texas Politics Project aims to deepen understanding of Texas political dynamics through data-driven research and public engagement.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Intensive care medicine
• Oncology
• Emergency medicine
• Surgery
• Gastroenterology
• Immunology
• Medical emergency
• Pathology
• Environmental health

Selected publications

• Ethics Education in Neurosurgery Residency: Program Directors’ Perspectives on Perceived Gaps in the Curriculum

  Journal of surgical education · 2026-05-02

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• 5 ASSOCIATION OF FGFR1 ONCOGENIC ALTERATIONS AND SPONTANEOUS HEMORRHAGE IN LOW-GRADE GLIOMAS

  Neuro-Oncology Advances · 2025-08-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract BACKGROUND There is evidence in literature to suggest that Low-grade gliomas (LGG) with FGFR1 oncogenic alterations have high risk of spontaneous intra-tumoral hemorrhage. We aimed to investigate the genetic alterations associated with spontaneous hemorrhage in pediatric and AYA patients with LGG. METHODS Data was collected from retrospective chart review of patients between 0-39yrs with FGFR pathway altered gliomas diagnosed between 2013-2025. RESULTS We identified 15 patients with gliomas harboring an oncogenic FGFR alteration. Median age at diagnosis was 16yrs (range, 6-30yrs) and there was a male predominance (M: F-3:1). Three patients (N=3/15, 20%) had spontaneous intra-tumoral hemorrhage; one at presentation and two patients during their course of illness. Clinical features at presentation included severe headaches with nausea and vomiting in all three patients; seizures in two of the patients and altered visual acuity in one patient. Two of the three patients (N=2/3, 66%) also had intra-ventricular hemorrhage. All the three patients had different tumor locations (supra-sellar region, posterior fossa and right thalamus). All three patients had a pathological diagnosis of Pilocytic Astrocytoma and all of them had FGFR1 oncogenic alterations (mutations=2, N546K, K656E; Fusion=1, FGFR1-TACC1). PTPN11-E69K was a co-occurring mutation in one patient. All three patients underwent surgical decompression of the intra-tumoral hemorrhage. All three patients are alive (2-36 months) with no recurrent hemorrhage, and one patient is on Trametinib. CONCLUSION Data from our series along with evidence in the literature suggests that LGG with FGFR1 alterations are predisposed to spontaneous intra-tumoral hemorrhage in the pediatric and AYA patients.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• INNV-53. Precision Medicine in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology-Experience from a tertiary care center in Canada

  Neuro-Oncology · 2025-11-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract INTRODUCTION The increased use of multi-omics testing in Neuro-Oncology has provided newer therapeutic options directed against molecular alterations for the treatment of Pediatric brain tumors, referred to as Precision medicine with targeted therapy (TT). We describe here the real-world use of innovative /targeted therapies for pediatric brain tumors from Cancer Care Manitoba in Canada. METHODS This is a retrospective study of all pediatric brain tumors diagnosed between 2010-2023 treated with at least one dose of TT. RESULTS Forty patients were treated with 50 lines of TT; Seven patients (N=7/40, 17.5%) received multiple lines of TT. Low grade gliomas (LGG) formed the largest cohort (N=26/40, 59.1%). Initial treatment included surgery (N=12/40, 30%), chemotherapy (N=15/40, 37.5%), radiotherapy (N=10/40, 25%) or any combination of the three modalities (N=9/40, 22.5%). Twenty-seven (N=27/50, 54%) patients were initiated with TT before first relapse. TT was initiated in 55% of the patients (N=22/40) based on molecular findings. Targetable genomic alterations were found mostly in RAS/MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Monotherapy with MEK inhibitors (Trametinib, Selumetinib, N=30/50, 60%) was the most common regime; 12 different combinations of TT were used; most common being Dabrafenib and Trametinib. Drugs were accessed through compassionate access programs in 94% of cases (N=47/50). Among all patients treated with TT, ten (N=10/50, 20%) had partial response and 28 (N=29/50, 63.6%) had stable disease; 11 patients (11/50, 22%) had progression while on TT; leading to a disease control rate (DCR) of 78% and a clinical benefit rate (CBR) of 63.3%. Adverse events involved most commonly the skin, hair and /nails (N=24, 66.7%). TT was stopped due to toxicities in 6 patients (N=6/50, 12%) with no deaths reported. CONCLUSION Our study confirms existing data in the literature regarding precision medicine in pediatric cancer with high CBR along with good quality of life and minimal toxicities.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 6 ONC201 (DORDAVIPRONE) IN THE TREATMENT OF DIFFUSE MIDLINE GLIOMA OF THE PONS IN CHILDREN: CANCER CARE MANITOBA EXPERIENCE

  Neuro-Oncology Advances · 2025-08-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Diffuse midline glioma of the pons (DMG-P) is a uniformly fatal brain tumor in children. Radiation therapy (RT) is the current standard of care with only transient benefits. Therapy at progression is very limited and offers marginal benefits. ONC201 (Dordaviprone), a brain penetrant dopamine receptor D2 antagonist has shown efficacy in recent clinical trials of DMG-P. Here we present our experience of DMG-P patients treated with ONC201. Methods: We analyzed clinical data of patients diagnosed with DMG-P from 2012-2024 and compared outcomes of patients treated with and without ONC201. Results: There were nineteen patients with DMG-P; Thirteen (N=13/19) patients were diagnosed based on clinical / MRI findings; six patients had biopsy confirmed DMG-P. All patients were treated with RT. Six (n=6/19, 31%) patients were treated with ONC201 at first recurrence post-RT through the expanded access program. Four of the six (N=4/6, 66%) patients also received repeat RT at first recurrence. ONC201 was tolerated well without any dose modifying toxicities. Median progression free survival (PFS) and median overall survival (OS) from initial diagnosis in the ONC201 vs. non-ONC201 patients was 9.05 months (4.5-30.1) compared to 4.6 months (1.9-10.7), and 19.2 months (11.3-33.1) compared to 8.2 months (1.9-19.7), respectively. Two patients are still alive (at 12 and 33 months) on therapy. Conclusion: Our data suggest that ONC201 in combination with repeat RT has clinical efficacy in the treatment of recurrent DMG-P tumors in children. Ongoing clinical trials of combination therapies of ONC201 in DMG-P both in upfront and recurrent settings will validate our findings.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Complex shunt system comparison: an observational study by the Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network

  Journal of Neurosurgery Pediatrics · 2025-05-02 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: Treatment of multiloculated hydrocephalus can require multiple procedures and shunt catheters. This study aimed to determine whether there are differences in shunt survival or complications in patients with complex shunt systems based on whether they have separate systems or multiple intracranial catheters with a single distal catheter and a Y- or T-connector. METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed the Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network (HCRN) Core Data Project, a prospective multicenter registry. Patients undergoing first-time placement of a complex ventriculoperitoneal shunt or first-time conversion to a complex shunt were identified and included in the analysis. Propensity-weighted Cox regression was used to control for HCRN center and etiology using the rate of shunt failure (shunt malfunction or shunt infection) as the primary outcome. The final regression model was also adjusted for age and complex chronic conditions. RESULTS: In total, 369 patients were included. One hundred fifty-one patients had separate systems and 218 had Y/T-connectors. After adjustment for age and comorbidities, the rate of shunt failure for systems with Y/T-connectors was not significantly different than that for separate shunt systems: 62% versus 55% (HR 1.20, 95% CI 0.91-1.59, p = 0.197). There was a statistically significant difference in operative time with separate systems having shorter operative times (mean time 63.0 vs 80.0 minutes; mean difference 16.32, 95% CI 7.53-25.10, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: There were no differences in the shunt failure rates or complications between the separate shunt systems and Y/T-connector systems used to treat complex shunts. However, surgical time was significantly shorter with separate shunt systems. These findings suggest that surgeons can tailor the shunt system on the basis of individual patient characteristics.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Impact of barrel stave osteotomy on cephalometric measurements in patients who have undergone endoscopic repair of sagittal craniosynostosis

  Journal of Neurosurgery Pediatrics · 2025-10-10 · 1 citations

  article

  OBJECTIVE: The treatment of sagittal craniosynostosis typically involves endoscopic suturectomy (ES) to allow skull expansion, followed by postoperative helmet orthosis, resulting in an improvement in cranial deformity as assessed using the cephalic index (CI). The impact of variations in surgical technique on long-term CI outcomes is not well understood, and there is controversy regarding whether adding barrel stave osteotomy (BSO) to standard ES leads to greater improvement in the CI postoperatively. This combined approach is thought to improve cranial shape and overall clinical outcomes but may increase operative burden. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of BSO during ES on operative outcomes and postoperative cranial deformity in patients who underwent surgical correction of sagittal craniosynostosis. METHODS: The authors conducted a retrospective chart review of children who had been treated with ES for sagittal craniosynostosis between 2010 and 2021 at British Columbia Children's Hospital. Demographics, operative outcomes, and postoperative longitudinal CI measurements were collected and compared between patients who had undergone ES with BSO (ES+BSO) and those who had undergone ES alone. Operative outcomes related to anesthesia and surgical time, blood loss, and hospital length of stay were analyzed, as were changes in the CI at various follow-up times. A mixed-effects model was used to compare longitudinal CI measurements between treatment groups, controlling for patient age, preoperative CI, and duration of helmet therapy. RESULTS: Eighty-five patients were included in the analysis, 67 treated with ES+BSO and 18 treated with ES. Operative outcomes, including length of hospital stay, operative time, time under anesthesia, blood loss, and need for transfusion did not differ significantly between treatment groups (p > 0.05). The mean follow-up for the last CI measurements was 56.0 months. While preoperative CI was similar for the two groups (mean 67.4 for ES+BSO vs 66.8 for ES, p = 0.61), CI was significantly higher in the ES+BSO group immediately postoperatively (p = 0.004) and at the 6-month (p = 0.01), 2-year (p = 0.02), and final (p = 0.002) follow-ups. A mixed-effects model revealed that the addition of BSO led to significantly greater CI measurements independent of age, preoperative CI, and helmeting duration (estimated effect size 2.21, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In this series, the addition of BSO to ES significantly improved immediate and long-term cranial deformity in patients with sagittal craniosynostosis, without increasing the operative burden.

  PublisherDOI

• A comparison of the life history and distribution of vermilion rockfish (Sebastes miniatus) and its cryptic pair, sunset rockfish (S. crocotulus) along the Pacific Coast

  Fisheries Research · 2025-08-26

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Reimagining durability of hydrocephalus treatment using conditional survival

  Journal of Neurosurgery Pediatrics · 2025-02-07 · 5 citations

  article

  OBJECTIVE: Conditional survival incorporates the effect of time passed since an event to current data in an easy-to-understand, relevant format. Data from the Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network (HCRN) registry were analyzed with conditional survival to improve patient and family counseling after hydrocephalus treatment. METHODS: Children with hydrocephalus who underwent first-time treatment by a single proximal catheter ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) or endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) with or without choroid plexus cauterization with at least 3 years of follow-up in the prospective HCRN registry (14 sites, April 24, 2008-December 31, 2020) were included. Those with nonperitoneal or multiple proximal catheters were excluded. The probability of failure-free survival at 3, 5, and 10 years was calculated as a function of time since surgery. RESULTS: Overall, 5782 patients were included (1609 with ETV, 4173 with VPS placement). The median time to censoring was 5.3 years. The overall respective 3-, 5-, and 10-year failure-free survival rates were 59%, 58%, and 57%, respectively, for ETV and 62%, 58%, and 54%, respectively, for VPS. If VPS failure had not occurred by 1 year postoperatively, the 3-, 5-, and 10-year failure-free survival rates were 85%, 79%, and 66%, respectively. If ETV failure had not occurred by 1 year, the 3-, 5-, and 10-year failure-free survival rates were 93%, 91%, and 86%, respectively. Conditional survival also varied by age and etiology. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who do not require revision surgery in the 1st year have an excellent chance of being revision free for an extended period. Conditional survival plots provided are intuitive and can be used in the counseling of North American patients with surgically treated hydrocephalus.

  PublisherDOI

• Infection of Cerebrospinal Fluid Drainage Devices

  Surgical Infections · 2025-10-07

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Ventricular reservoir infections and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt infections are diagnosed when bacteria are recovered from microbiological cultures of CSF samples from these devices. We applied high throughput sequencing (HTS) to understand the course of changes in ventricular reservoir and shunt infection microbiota. OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the utility of monitoring microbiota in CSF (1) from ventricular reservoirs to detect development of an infection and (2) during treatment of CSF shunt infections to assess treatment response. METHODS: Study populations included (1) neonates with temporizing ventricular reservoirs who developed reservoir infection and (2) children undergoing treatment for conventional culture-confirmed CSF shunt infection. The V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was amplified and sequenced. Comparison of taxonomic results of HTS with standard microbiological culture results (when available) was described for each CSF sample. A robust HTS signal was defined by a microbial load of ≥1e5 microbial genome equivalents/mL. RESULTS: In none of the five ventricular reservoir infection cases was there a robust HTS signal for the responsible bacteria immediately prior to infection. In six of the seven CSF shunt infection cases, there was a robust HTS signal for the genus of the responsible bacteria in the sample at the time of positive CSF culture. The proportion of sequences from the genus associated with the responsible bacteria decreased during infection treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These pilot data suggest limited utility in using HTS for surveillance for ventricular reservoir infections, as they emerge abruptly. In CSF shunt infection, HTS demonstrates a return to heterogeneous microbiota when bacterial cultures become negative.

  PublisherDOI

• Effect of endoscopic third ventriculostomy on subsequent shunt failure: a Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network study

  Journal of Neurosurgery Pediatrics · 2025-10-17

  article

  OBJECTIVE: Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV), an alternative to ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) placement, is associated with a higher risk of early failure, sometimes necessitating subsequent VPS insertion. The authors evaluated the impact of ETV prior to VPS placement on the risk of VPS failure by using the Hydrocephalus Clinical Research Network (HCRN) Core Data Project. METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed prospectively collected data from the HCRN Core Data Project (registry) on all children who underwent VPS surgery between April 2008 and July 2023. Children who had undergone VPS placement as initial treatment for hydrocephalus were compared with those who had undergone ETV prior to VPS insertion. The primary outcome was initial VPS survival, with failure defined as any subsequent hydrocephalus procedure. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards analyses were performed to assess the effect of prior ETV, controlling for age at the first permanent procedure (ETV or VPS placement), hydrocephalus etiology, and complex chronic conditions (CCCs). RESULTS: VPS placement was performed in 6206 children, of whom 642 underwent VPS placement after failed ETV. VPS insertion after ETV improved shunt survival at 1 year (74.3% vs 67.8%, p < 0.001). Unadjusted analysis showed improved VPS survival after ETV (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.68-0.90, p = 0.001). Corrected age ≥ 30 days at the time of the first permanent procedure, choroid plexus cauterization, etiology of hydrocephalus other than intraventricular hemorrhage of prematurity, and the absence of a CCC were also associated with improved shunt survival on univariable analysis. Multivariable analysis revealed that hydrocephalus etiology, the absence of a CCC, corrected age ≥ 30 days at the time of the first permanent procedure, and ETV prior to VPS insertion (HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.74-0.98) remained associated with shunt survival (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This analysis demonstrates an association between ETV prior to VPS placement and improved VPS survival, even when controlling for age, comorbid conditions, and hydrocephalus etiology. Further work is needed to understand the mechanism of this effect.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Informing Choice for Neurotechnological Innovation in Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery

  NIH · $534k · 2018–2023

Frequent coauthors

• Jason S. Hauptman

  Phoenix Children's Hospital

  99 shared

• Tamara D. Simon

  University of Southern California

  97 shared

• Michael J. Ellis

  University of Manitoba

  88 shared

• Abhaya V. Kulkarni

  82 shared

• Judy Illes

  NeuroDevNet

  77 shared

• Robert P. Naftel

  62 shared

• Mandeep S. Tamber

  University of British Columbia

  57 shared

• David D. Limbrick

  Neurological Surgery

  55 shared

Labs

• The Texas Politics ProjectPI

  The Texas Politics Project conducts regular, non-partisan, statewide polls of registered voters in Texas, and makes the results and data available for public use.